Forever and For Always
by Banhishika
Summary: Nora and Hope are being sent to a place which spells for their certain doom, although they don't realize it. How will a mother say her last goodbyes, without actually saying goodbye?


**Forever and For Always-A One Shot**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, nor any characters in it._

Hope kept his eyes closed as the train rode to…wherever they were going. Everything was perfectly fine, just a few days ago, wonderful. His mother and him had finally gotten the vacation they had so longed for, and although his _father _couldn't come due to his job, everything was still so much fun. They had seen the fireworks, and laid on the beach, it was so relaxing…

'_But then…' _Hope Thought, '_Then that stupid Fal'Cie reacted, and now look at us. Why are we here? We don't belong here!' _Rage boiled inside of him as he clenched his fists together. If only he hadn't insisted on this vacation…if only his mom wasn't so sad when his dad wasn't around.

As if feeling his anger, Nora rested her covered hand over his, and when he opened his eyes to look at her, she was looking down at him, giving him a soft, understanding smile. He sighed softly and laid his head back, hoping that maybe.., just maybe everything would turn out alright in the end. They would go home, and everything would be fine.

"Mom," He whispered, glancing quickly around at his fellow train members before looking back up to her. "Are we going to be okay?"

Nora's eyes lowered as she tried to think of a proper response. She had this weird feeling, and she couldn't exactly describe it, but it was as if she was at the edge of something, and she knew without a doubt that maybe not everything would be alright. But she couldn't say that to her son, she wouldn't. So instead she offered him a small smile and nodded.

"We have each other, don't we?" She whispered, and for the first time since they boarded the train, he smiled back.

"Forever and for always." He responded. Only moments later a loud voice screamed a command and a huge explosion was heard. Three of four people that were in the quarantine outfits stood up from their seats, quickly getting out of the atrocious outfits and pulling out hidden weapons.

"Get the others outside," said a man with blue hair, "I've gotta catch up with Snow."

He ran into the next train without another word, and the remaining two came forward and helped everyone, including him and his mom, off of the train and into a place which he had never seen before.

It was so vast, and gave off such a foreboding feeling. A forbidden place, he realized immediately. A place where no one went to, '_And no one returned from,' _his mind finished. His mom held his hand as they were basically forced forward, and he had to wonder if this was really a good thing, or a bad thing. They walked on what seemed to be a road of sorts for a very long time, as the 'leaders' watched out for military members and passing ships. Surprisingly, they weren't caught by anyone, and there were no ships in sight. From what he could see, the ships were being sent to a place farther east, where a different part of the train had wrecked.

"Everybody find a place to relax, okay? We're gonna stay here till further notice," A woman with black hair said with her hands on her hips. His mom lead him over to the place where most of the others were, and they sat down together, him leaning against her as she stroked his still covered head.

"You've grown up so fast," Nora said, breaking the silence after quite a long while. Hope felt something stirring up in the pit of his stomach at her tone. She looked down at him, her eyes searching for something in his own. "You can do everything on your own now."

Immediately panic came to the surface as he started to shake his head in denial, and he grasped one of her hands in his. He didn't notice that already his hands were larger than hers, that he _had _grown.

"That's not true!" He whispered furiously, "Of course it's not true, I need you, and I need…" He faltered, not wanting to actually say he needed _him. _Nora, knowing what his problem was, let out a small laugh, and laid a hand against his cheek.

"So against your father, even now." She whispered, almost sadly. "He needs you, Hope. You may not want to believe it, but he loves you…" A thousand denials wanted to come out at that, but Nora shook her head, denying him a privilege to voice his thoughts. She dropped her hand from his face, and instead pulled him in for a hug. Dread coursed throughout him, and he realized she knew something he didn't, understood something he couldn't. He wanted to ask what it was, but he was afraid to know.

A man with blonde hair came into view, he was talking to the others who had led them to this place. He seemed very serious, as if set on something. Nora pulled back from the hug and looked Hope in the eyes, something seemed different about her now, something had changed when the man with blonde hair arrived. He felt as if he should be crying, or begging for something, but he didn't know what for. All he could do was stare back at her, wondering just what she could be thinking about.

" I never thought I would put you in this sort of position," She said, and before he could interrupt she continued, " I had promised to protect you, Hope. When you were born…you were so small, so fragile, you _needed _my protection. You were my special boy, my hope for a good future. But I've brought you to such a dreadful place…and now…" She trailed off, her expression growing grim. The sound of footsteps was getting closer to them and she stuttered to get the words out, "You've got so much strength in you, my Hope. So much, I hope one day you'll be able to see it."

Hope didn't really understand it, something told him he wouldn't for a while. Now, it just seemed like rambling…he didn't get why she would be talking about such weird things at a time like this. She seemed so…distressed. He wanted to comfort her, somehow. So he said to her what she always said to him.

" Everything will be alright mom, right?" He said, and continued, "I mean, we have each other, don't we?"

He watched as tears rolled down her eyes and she responded, her voice shaky as she laid a hand on his chest, right on his heart.

"Forever and for always."

_A/N: Thank you all for reading! I hope you liked it, it's been a long time since I've written anything so I expect some errors, but hopefully I can get back into my old style soon enough!_


End file.
